


Practicing Medicine

by tinkertoysdamn



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Canon Era, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Not Beta Read
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-12
Packaged: 2018-05-20 00:30:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5986249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkertoysdamn/pseuds/tinkertoysdamn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager teaches Jean about wound dressing so he can better take care of Armin.</p>
<p>Unapologetic fluff</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I rediscovered the first few paragraphs of this story this morning and typed up the rest of this way too quickly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Practicing Medicine

Coming back from a mission with no deaths and only a few casualties should have been a cause for celebration, but Jean was not in the mood. Although the Scouting Legion’s mission had changed, they still ventured outside the Walls in an effort to disguise their true agenda. Jean was getting tired of it, feeling ready to move forward in whatever craziness Commander Erwin had cooked up.

Until then, he just had to play the good soldier and carry on. Jean cracked his neck as he entered their new temporary headquarters, feeling stiff and sore. He wanted to check on Armin as soon as possible. The smaller boy had scraped up his arm during a fight with a three-meter Titan. Thankfully, he hadn’t suffered any other injuries but Jean wanted to inspect the makeshift bandage he had wrapped around it. 

“Hey, horseface!” It was Jaeger and he sounded irritated. Great, Jean had been getting along with him so well lately too.

“What is it, Eren?” Jean asked.

Eren, with all of his limbs intact for once—thank god-- was holding a box and scowling. “I saw the crap job you did wrapping Armin’s arm.” 

Were they really going to get into an argument about wound dressings? Jean tilted his head in the way that he knew annoyed Eren. “And?” 

“Just come here,” Eren said.

“No.” Jean held up his hands in “stop” gesture. “I’m tired and we just did another pointless run outside the Wall—“

Eren seemed to puff himself up like a bird trying to make itself look bigger in front of a predator. “Just get your ass over here.”

Oh, he was not in the mood for a fight. “Fine.” Jean rolled his eyes to communicate just how stupid he thought this all was and approached Eren. 

The shorter boy grabbed his arm and dragged Jean over to a free corner. “Sit,” Eren ordered. 

Jean did as he was bid, challenging Eren with his eyes to just get on with it. Gently, Eren took Jean’s arm and rolled up the sleeve. The taller teenager just watched, wondering what Eren was planning.

Eren opened the box to reveal a small makeshift first aid kit complete with gauze and antiseptic. “I’m going to show you how to do this right,” Eren said. He took out the antiseptic bottle and dabbed some liquid onto clean gauze.

Jean scoffed. “Eren, I didn’t have one of those earlier; this isn’t going to do anything.”

“We’ll go over improvising for the field later, these are just the basics.” Eren’s tone brooked no argument, just an authoritative need for Jean to listen. He went over how to properly clean a wound, when to close and when to leave it open. He demonstrated various techniques for wrapping with gauze to keep a gash from reopening. Then he made Jean repeat what he had done. They did this over and over until Jean could do it to Eren’s satisfaction. 

As much as he hated to admit it, Jean was impressed. “How do you know how to do all this?”

“My dad was a doctor,” Eren said, “he taught me a few things before—“ His voice trailed off. 

Jean knew enough to not need clarification. “Okay,” Jean said, “but why are you telling me all this?”

Eren’s eyes trailed to where Jean was finishing up an improvised wrap. “When we were kids Armin used to get beat up a lot. Mikasa and I would chase the guys off but Armin,” Eren shook his head, “he didn’t always get off easy. I’d patch him up but now things are different.” He leveled Jean with an intense stare. “Ever since we’ve found out I’m a Titan Shifter, Armin and I have been spending less time together. He’s in the field one direction and I’m in another. I need someone to watch after him, to take care of him.”

Jean swallowed, his face heating up; Armin had chosen to keep their burgeoning relationship quiet, saying that he didn’t want Mikasa and Eren focusing on anything other than the mission. Did they already know? 

“Stop blushing, you idiot,” Eren snapped, his lips forming an evil grin. “Armin’s not nearly as sneaky as he thinks he is and you’re not half as cool.”

In irritation, Jean tied off the end of the wrap just a little too tight. He smirked at Eren’s involuntary yelp. “Fine,” Jean admitted. “Armin and I are—“ he searched for the right word, “courting.”

Jean hadn’t heard Eren laugh that hard in a long time. The Titan Shifter’s face was red, his hand pounding on his chest as if he couldn’t breathe. Jean just sat back with a neutral expression waiting for Eren to quit.

When Eren came back to his senses it was with tears in the corners of his eyes and a chest panting with the unexpected exertion. He wiped at his face with the bandage on his arm. Once he was composed he said with all seriousness, “Just promise me you’ll take care of him.”

Jean let out a heartfelt sigh. What else would you call making sure the younger man eat and slept? What else was keeping up Armin’s morale in the face of overwhelming odds? What else was reassuring him that no matter what happened Jean had no regrets? “I already do.” 

Eren nodded and got to his feet. “Remember, if you need anything just ask me or Mikasa.”

Jean was a little surprised at the offer. Although he and Eren were not enemies, they were hardly friends. “Okay.”

“Armin’s important to us,” Eren clarified. “And now you are too.” 

Sometimes one doesn’t know the words that they need to hear until someone else speaks them. Jean felt his face heat up again, but he didn’t mind. That was family’s job wasn’t it, to embarrass you?


End file.
